Boeing delivers 46 jets in January

(Reuters) - Boeing Co delivered 46 aircraft in January, two more than a year earlier, as the world’s biggest planemaker gears up for another year of record sales amid booming demand from the airline industry.

FILE PHOTO: Boeing Co's logo is seen above the front doors of its largest jetliner factory in Everett, Washington, U.S. January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Alwyn Scott

The company’s shares rose as much as 1.5 percent to $409.90.

Investors and analysts keep a close watch on the number of planes Boeing turns over to airlines and leasing firms for cues on the company’s revenue and cash flow.

European rival Airbus SE delivered 39 aircraft in January, up from 27 planes a year earlier.

Boeing won 43 net orders last month, beating Airbus, which did not report any wins and had 13 cancellations dominated by the superjumbo A380 aircraft.

Of those orders, 18 were for 787 Dreamliner jets, as Boeing ramps up production rate for its wide-body aircraft to 14 per month from 12 in 2018.

“There continues to be some pent-up demand (for the 787),” Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu wrote in a note.

“The order (for the longest version of the 787 jets - the 787-10) is notable given it is the first since June 2017 when Singapore ordered 19 of the variant.”

The remaining orders are for a military version of Boeing’s best-selling 737 aircraft, the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, from Britain, Norway and the United States, as well as commercial sales to unidentified customers.

Boeing delivered 806 aircraft last year, missing its target by four jets as the company was hit by fuselage and engine delays at its suppliers.

Despite that it retained the title of the world’s biggest planemaker for the seventh straight year. Airbus delivered 800 planes in 2018.

The U.S. planemaker has set a target of 895 to 905 commercial aircraft deliveries for 2019.

Reporting by Ankit Ajmera and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D'Silva